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Walkthrough Writing Guide
Basics of walkthrough writing. To see a list of every completed walkthrough currently on this site, go here: Walkthrough:Index Contents hide 1 Purpose 2 How to Create a Walkthrough 3 The Introduction Page 4 Table of Contents 4.1 Table of Contents on the Introduction Page 4.2 On Each Page 5 Categorizing 6 Editing Someone Else's Walkthrough 7 Time Limits Purpose EditWalkthroughs are often the least formal sections of the wiki. Unlike various other pages they can often use sarcasm and jokes freely. There is no manual of style nor a point of view that any walkthrough writer need abide by. There is no set style for walkthrough writing, it is up to the individual authors to decide for his or herselves just how they will create their work. However this does not mean that the writers can simply abandon the overall purpose of a walkthrough. One mustn't forget that their first purpose is to guide people through the games of Final Fantasy. Certainly avoid any misleading or false information. How to Create a Walkthrough EditWalkthroughs can be created by simply typing in the name of the walkthrough in the Search bar. After that hit "Create this page" and your work will begin. First up it in the proper name space (Walkthrough:), then put the game's name, then your name, or use an abbreviation/nickname. For example: Walkthrough: Final Fantasy Q/User Once you have established a walkthrough title, it is now time for you create pages associated with this new walkthrough. It is not advisable to write your entire walkthrough on a single page due to computer slowdowns on certain older Internet browsers. Once you have completed the first page or the "introduction page" you can add more pages to your walkthrough. To add more pages, put the words "/Part X" (X being the number in which this page of your walkthrough comes in the overall sequence) after your title. Like so: Walkthrough: Final Fantasy Q/User/Part 1 Other special pages of your walkthrough can be included in the same way: Walkthrough: Final Fantasy Q/User/Sidequests Once a walkthrough has been fully completed, be sure to add it to the list on this page: Walkthrough: Index. The Introduction Page EditMany walkthroughs add in a first Introduction Page before they begin with the number sequence. However many do not. It is up to the individual walkthrough writer whether or not they want to add this feature to their work. It is often the very first page of the walkthrough, usually written before the "/Part X"'s. Though several walkthrough writers simply make this page "/Part 1". The Introduction Page should access the theme and style that your walkthrough will take. Certainly tell your readers what to expect with your work. However the Introduction Page has other uses as well. It can include the basic information of the game, including: how to play the game, controls, graphical style, and perhaps even the writer's judgement of the game's worth. It can also be used to hold the Table of Contents so that the Introduction Page becomes the 'main hub' of the walkthrough. Table of Contents EditLike the Introduction Page itself the Table of Contents is entirely optional and up to the walkthrough writer to decide whether or not to include it. Though it is strongly advised that one create some kind of way to easily navigate their walkthrough pages. If the reader cannot navigate the walkthrough they are all the more likely to abandon their search here and go onto another walkthrough or go to Gamefaqs. There are several styles by which a writer can create a Table of Contents. Two of the more popular ways are the following: Table of Contents on the Introduction Page Edit This way is the more simple and easier to understand. Simply list the pages on the bottom of the Introduction Page in proper order. Write similar to this example: Walkthrough: Final Fantasy Q/User/Part 1 Walkthrough: Final Fantasy Q/User/Part 2 Walkthrough: Final Fantasy Q/User/Part 3 etc. etc. etc. This should include every page that is your walkthrough uses. In some cases the authors may want to add special titles to make it easier for the reader to understand just what part of the game each page discusses. For example: Part 1: The Beginning After you type in that code it should appear on the page like this: Part 1: The Beginning On Each Page Edit An easy way of making navigation between pages easier is to add links to the Introduction, previous, and next pages at the bottom of the page. Here is an example: Main Page <- Previous Page Next Page -> Once this is typed in it should appear on the page like this: Main Page | <- Previous Page | Next Page -> Another, more complex method of the above, is to use a Nav template. With a Nav template, you can use a template at the bottom of the page to help readers navigate to other pages rather than having to manually provide the links as above. To use a Nav template, you'll first have to create the template at a page name like this: Walkthrough: Final Fantasy Q/User/Nav You can then add the Nav template through your walkthrough like any other template, and assuming it is properly coded, the template will do the rest of your work in regards to linking. However, be warned that Nav templates use very complex coding, and can be difficult to create. It is thus recommended that, rather than create one yourself, you ask someone else to help you, possibly another walkthrough writer who has used a Nav template before. Categorizing EditIt is also important to categorize your Walkthrough. This may seem redundant if you have already created a Table of Contents however this serves an important purpose: it can now appear on the Category: Walkthroughs page. For your walkthrough's own category, it should be the name of the game followed by "walkthrough". For example: Category:Final Fantasy VI walkthrough. If no category exists, say if this is the first walkthrough for that game, create your own. Be sure to check if a category already exists before making this page. Every walkthrough page should be categorized. If you are creating a Category, be sure to add this code: Category: Walkthroughs It should also be at the bottom of your Main Page. Editing Someone Else's Walkthrough EditMany walkthrough writers are very protective of their work and do not appreciate others editing things willy nilly. Before editing another person's walkthrough, always ask for permission from the writer. This way you can avoid unpleasant confrontation and disagreement. No matter how informal and sarcastic a walkthrough may seem, do not throw in jokes or negative comments about the characters, game or walkthrough without the author's permission. Do not add your own advice into pages without first reaching agreement with the author. These pages are like any other page on the wiki, and ignoring this rule is considered vandalism. Continuing to violate the rules in clear disregard to warnings will result in a banning by one of our Admins. Simple spelling and grammar edits supersede this rule. Correcting misspellings and grammar mistakes is never vandalism and is in fact encouraged; however, the walkthrough writer may still elect to retain their original grammar. Where broken links, coding errors, and replacing duplicate images are concerned, corrections are always permittable and encouraged. Time Limits EditPlease, once you start a Walkthrough, do plan on actually completing it. So many walkthroughs start out with a few pages, then never go anywhere because the writer lost interest. If no serious work has been performed on the Walkthrough for one year while it is in a state of incompletion without a reasonable explanatory circumstance for the lack of progress, the Walkthrough will be deleted. The User will be notified of this on their Talk Page, then the entire work will be deleted one week later. The only way to stop this deletion is to either give a good reason for why work has not been done, or to restart work in a timely fashion. Walkthroughs that have been completely finished are in no danger of deletion, unless by request of the author. Retrieved from "http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Help:Walkthroughs"